Project description

A Worldwide Review of Maritime Spill Incidents Intervention Policies and Approaches (MSIIPA) research project will examine critical time frames and desired interventions to prevent a full response effort as well as plans and protocols.

The project will entail both an operational review of recent Canadian “near spill” incidents and the strategies/policies of a number of developed nations (i.e. UK, Sweden, Germany, and USA) respecting near spill incidence prevention, examining the causal failures that created near spill accidents and potentially costly pollution events.

A report on this subject will provide an inventory of options for Transport Canada to consider in establishing strategies to serve effectively in a multi-jurisdictional legal, regulatory, and policy environment.

Project Officer

Dr. Tafsir Matin Johansson is employed as an Associate Research Officer at the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (Global Ocean Institute) in Malmö, Sweden. Prior to joining the Global Ocean Institute, Tafsir served as Research Associate at the World Maritime University (WMU) where he has held office since 2013. Tafsir is a policy analyst with a Ph.D. in Maritime Affairs from WMU, an LLM in Maritime Law from the University of Lund, Sweden, and an LLB from the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Professor Neil Bellefontaine was Vice President (Academics) at WMU from April 2011 to December 2018. He previously held the Canadian Chair in Marine Environmental Protection from October 2006 to April 2013. He was formerly a senior executive with the Canadian Fisheries and Oceans Department with broad professional experience in maritime administration, fisheries and marine aquaculture and coastal and oceans management.